The Bad Rabbit
by Grasswing of Wingclan
Summary: Owlclan was once a strong clan, now they are starving, catss are dying and food is rare to find. Beepaw thinks finding the rabbit is lucky, but to Sappaw, it was unlucky for her. Adderclan challenge- Poisoned.


**A/N: Hello guys! I'm back once again with another Adderclan challenge! This one is called Poisoned. It is about a kit/apprentice/warrior/elder that gets poisoned by something and I can choose if they live or die. So here is my entry.**

All the cats in the clan were hungry. Why, you may ask? Well, Owlclan was once a large clan with lots of prey but now, the weather just kept getting worse and stronger, colder winds whipped through the territory. The recent flood had taken a huge toll on the clan, or what was left of the clan. The prey had all left for somewhere safer and cats started to starve. Owlclan was now divided into two groups, the scavengers, and protectors. The protectors would watch over camp while the scavengers would search for any piece of prey.

Beepaw, one of the scavengers, was desperately looking through the remains of Owlclan territory, trying to find even a measly shrew. His sister, Sappaw, was very ill and their healer was sure that she would probably not make it. Then, as if a stroke of luck, a small rabbit ran in his path. Not wanting to let it get away, the skinny tom ran after it. Since he was very tired and weak, it was much harder to catch the rabbit. With every last piece of energy, he leapt and pinned the rabbit to the ground, delivering a killing bite to its neck. He picked up the rabbit, staggering slightly under its weight and begun to was home.

When he had entered camp, all eyes turned to him. "Y-You managed to find that?" Fernstar asked and Beepaw nodded. "Take part of it to your sister and the other ill cats," Fernstar rasped, her sad gaze travelling around camp to the cats that were nibbling on small shrews or anything else they could find. Beepaw dipped his head and headed off to the healer's den. "Paleflower?" he said, voice slightly muffled by the rabbit.

He walked in and saw a small pale grey she-cat bent over; sorting some dried leaves and shriveled berries. "Yes?" she said softly, turning to look at him. Her eyes lit up when she saw the prey. "Give it to the others first. I'll have whatever is left over," she said with a sigh and Beepaw walked over to his sister's nest. "Wake up, Sappaw. Wake up!" She opened her dull green eyes and lifted her head up to look at him. Her once pretty honey-coloured pelt was now matted and messy since she hadn't cleaned it in a moon.

"Look what I caught!" he said happily, puffing his chest out and Sappaw gave a weak smile. She ripped off a leg of the rabbit and began to eat ravenously. Once she had finished, Beepaw gave her the other leg. "Thanks." She gave a rusty purr and began to tear away at the flesh. Then Beepaw gave some rabbit meat to the other three cats. Once he was done, he turned to his sister, who was licking her whiskers, trying to get every last piece that could be left. She's awfully skinny, he thought miserably. She was the worst out of all the cats in the clan.

He exited the den and to his surprise, a few scavengers had managed to catch some prey, two small sparrows, and one vole. Each cat rushed over to the prey pile, hoping to get a bite. Beepaw ran over to where the other apprentices would wait. The four apprentices were given a small mouse to share between them. Each cat took one bite and passed it on to the next. You were lucky to get more than three mouthfuls.

Once they had finished their mouse, the three apprentices headed off into the apprentice's den and Beepaw followed, his stomach growling for more but he knew he was lucky to get even a bite. "Icepaw? Any luck for you?" Beepaw asked a dirty-haired tom that his fur was once white as snow, but after everything happening, it became a brownish-grey colour. "I barely managed to catch a small mouse before it hid!" he bragged and Squirrelpaw rolled her eyes. "I got a rabbit!" Beepaw said happily and the three skinny apprentices looked at him, shocked. "Y-You did?" Wetpaw stammered and Beepaw nodded. "I gave it to the cats in the healer's den," he explained, earning a groan from Icepaw and Wetpaw.

"Honestly, you two are so selfish at sometimes. He gave it to his sister, Mallowfoot, Coalpelt and Fishclaw. They need it more than us," Squirrelpaw hissed and the other two apprentices hung their heads. "Now, Squirrrelpaw. You can't blame them. Everyone is starving and nobody can remember when they last had a full belly," Beepaw said and Squirrelpaw shrugged. "It's not our fault. Why does Starclan hate us?"

"They don't. They are probably testing us. They want to tell us something," Beepaw argued and the three other shook their heads sadly. "We are starving, slowly dying, and having weather that is brutal and disaster after disaster. Starclan has left us, Beepaw. The sooner you accept that, the better." Then the three apprentices curled up in their nests that had scraps of moss that barely provided any comfort against the hard, cold dirt ground. He then heard a yowl come from outside and he ran out. Cats crowded around the healer's den.

"What's going on?"

Paleflower looked grimly at Beepaw and sighed. "You better come in," she murmured and disappeared into her den. Curious, Beepaw followed. When he saw his sister lying in her nest, barely breathing, he began to panic and rushed over. Sappaw let out a ragged breath and lifted her head to look at her brother. She let out a bad cough and began to wheeze. "S-Sappaw? What's wrong with her?" Paleflower looked down at the young dying apprentice sadly. "It was the rabbit that you caught. It was infected. The flood water that came from the Twolegs place must have washed into the stream that the rabbit drank from. When eaten, it poisoned others," Paleflower explained.

"Sappaw was affected greatly because of how ill she was," the healer said miserable and Beepaw's eyes widened, realizing what might happen. "No! NO!" He yowled. Sappaw looked up at her brother, a look of pain on her face. "I love you Beepaw. Please, it wasn't your fault that the rabbit was bad. Paleflower saved the others, but not me," she rasped, coughing and squeezed her eyes shut for a heartbeat. "Brother. This is the end of Owlclan. We are in rags and so many have been lost over the past two seasons," Sappaw said miserable and stretched her neck to lick her brother's cheek one last time.

"Take care Beepaw. Be strong. We will meet very soon," she murmured and rested her head on her paws and closed her dull amber eyes. As she took a final, small breath, Beepaw rasped his tongue through her messy, matted fur, cleaning it up as best as he could. Once it was sleek and shiny like how it was when they were younger, a faint smile appeared on his sister's face, and her chest lay still. "She's gone," Beepaw said a hollow feeling in his heart. He could count every single one of her ribs now that her fur was cleaned and Beepaw knew that everybody looked boney and hungry.

Beepaw lay in the apprentice den, thinking about when he was still a kit. Him and Sapkit had fluffy, soft fur, everyone who you saw walk by had a cheerful look in their eyes. Icekit had his nice, bright white fur, not a grimy brown colour. Everyone went to bed with full stomachs, prey was plentiful, and weather was nice. That all seemed so long ago to Beepaw.

**A/N: How did you guys like it? I hope it qualifies. In the end, Owlclan was destroyed and lost forever because others either died from disease or from starvation. Poor Beepaw! I hope you guys liked it and why not join Adderclan? It is a very nice forum and everyone on it is super kind!**

**-Grasswing**


End file.
